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Singapore 2023

(77 Reviews)
99% Recommended

Tree Schmidt

Lakewood, CO

Bucket List Travel

I have been blessed to have traveled the world extensively and can't wait to assist you in making your travel dreams a reality.

My specialties are Tahiti and her islands including Bora Bora, Fiji, Cook Islands.

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Lion City Bike Tour & Marina Sands Bay Hotel

Day one :

Good news. Even after a 16 hour flight to the west, we really weren't jetlagged. The Singapore airport is exceptionally modern and clean. On the first evening we took the local advice, and went out to one of the food hawkers locations where there are numerous kinds of cuisine available mostly in the five to seven Singapore dollar range! Since it's always pretty hot here beer is universally popular. A wide variety of cuisines are available, traditional Chinese, Indian, Korean, and Japanese. There are an endless variety of noodles and dumplings, but Satay might be the most popular. Despite the mini guests, numerous tables and endless food stalls, everything stays pretty neat and clean.

Our guide Holden was fantastic! A fourth generation Singaporean, he did a great job of explaining the history, politics, social structure, etc. Singapore is the cleanest and most racially harmonious city in the world! Singapore has undergone a grand transformation in one generation. Holden showed us photos of his dad Gan from one generation ago. The city has undergone a major transformation in modernization. Cruising around on rental bikes was lots of fun. Singapore is mostly flat. In Singapore it’s always summer. Riding around on a bicycle gives you a nice little breeze. The people on the walking tours looked like they were melting. We met up close to the iconic Marina Sands Bay hotel, and the upcoming F1 facility. Being on bikes, we were able to cover the central financial district, Chinatown, the Indian quarter, and the Malaysian quarter. There are over 500 km of bike paths in Singapore, and that’s supposed to double in the next couple of years. Holden showed us a lot of hidden treasures that we would never have found on our own. He also made great recommendations for visiting the avatar trees and botanical gardens which is a UNESCO heritage site. Holden also gave us multiple great recommendations for dinner, and tips on interesting things to do, and staying relatively cool in the heat of the day.

Day Two:

Many Singaporeans eat most meals outside the home. One does not have to travel far to find a variety of good foods. Most neighborhoods have a food hawker complex. There were multiple coffee shops within a short distance from our hotel. The local version of coffee is "Koppi" which can be had black, with sugar, or with traditional condensed milk. It is quite good and generally cheaper than regular coffee. Many kinds of breakfast sandwiches are available. These were a nice alternative to the $33 hot Buffet in our hotel. It's a good idea to eat light both because of the heat, and it's easy to find many interesting bites you might want to try throughout the day. Being foodies, we decided the bike tour was so much fun we signed up for the culinary walking tour the next day. There is a culinary bike tour, but that did not run on this day. Starting at 2:30 in the afternoon it was pretty darn hot. We still enjoyed the tour of the more historical eastern part of the city. We learned about the Singaporean mixed race community, Paranakan their tasty local cuisine.This is a very safe city. Rules are a big thing in Singapore, and taken very seriously. As a result, even single women can feel safe and comfortable walking alone at night. After dark it cools off a little and people seem to come outside in droves to dine or just to walk around. Dining options are endless. Some of the local specialties are chili-crab, chicken-rice, satay, and stingray. Based on the Tokyo Metro, and as a result of Japanese help, we found the subway system to be extraordinarily clean, safe, devoid of graffiti, and none of the types of smells you are sure to encounter in the New York City subway. It's inexpensive and can get you anywhere in the city quite quickly.

Day Three:

Tonight's plans include rooftop cocktails, dinner at one of the restaurants recommended by our bike tour, seeing the avatar trees in the bayfront area, and the laser show. This morning's activities include hanging out by the rooftop pool and admiring the incredible variety of architectural design. There's no shortage of skyscrapers, every one of them is unique and interesting.

Day Four:

I'm trying to remember the day slowly moving it over to the royal albatross for our sunset cruise, dinner with wine pairings. The albatross is a handsome tall ship very well maintained. And the brochure spoke of a five star dinner. The photographs were three sheets to the wind. Neither of those were accurate sales and rigging. The food and wine was mediocre but people watching was fun. Scenery was good even though we were in the harbor with the container ships in refineries probably wouldn't repeat. Skip the hawkers for satay on the way home. I just don't have much of an appetite with the heat and it is hot.